cough the majority of the homeschoolers who deal with the home school legal defense fund
they have a certain definition and you are not a homeschooler in their eyes if you don't meet it. Also, the "moral" category does not necessarily coincide with the religious category. I know Wiccan unschoolers who would would tell you that they homeschool on moral grounds, if you offer them a sufficiently skewed set of reasons to chose from. On Tue, Mar 9, 2010 at 9:51 AM, Larry C. Lyons <[email protected]> wrote: > > Talk about messed up, and trying to colonize the future: > > http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/03/06/national/a112446S05.DTL > > > By DYLAN LOVAN, Associated Press Writer > Saturday, March 6, 2010 > (03-06) 15:57 PST Louisville, Ky. (AP) -- > > Home-school mom Susan Mule wishes she hadn't taken a friend's advice > and tried a textbook from a popular Christian publisher for her > 10-year-old's biology lessons. > > Mule's precocious daughter Elizabeth excels at science and has been > studying tarantulas since she was 5. But she watched Elizabeth's > excitement turn to confusion when they reached the evolution section > of the book from Apologia Educational Ministries, which disputed > Charles Darwin's theory. > > "I thought she was going to have a coronary," Mule said of her > daughter, who is now 16 and taking college courses in Houston. "She's > like, 'This is not true!'" > > Christian-based materials dominate a growing home-school education > market that encompasses more than 1.5 million students in the U.S. And > for most home-school parents, a Bible-based version of the Earth's > creation is exactly what they want. Federal statistics from 2007 show > 83 percent of home-schooling parents want to give their children > "religious or moral instruction." > > "The majority of home-schoolers self-identify as evangelical > Christians," said Ian Slatter, a spokesman for the Home School Legal > Defense Association. "Most home-schoolers will definitely have a sort > of creationist component to their home-school program." > > Those who don't, however, often feel isolated and frustrated from > trying to find a textbook that fits their beliefs. > > Two of the best-selling biology textbooks stack the deck against > evolution, said some science educators who reviewed sections of the > books at the request of The Associated Press. > > "I feel fairly strongly about this. These books are promulgating lies > to kids," said Jerry Coyne, an ecology and evolution professor at the > University of Chicago. > > The textbook publishers defend their books as well-rounded lessons on > evolution and its shortcomings. One of the books doesn't attempt to > mask disdain for Darwin and evolutionary science. > > "Those who do not believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant > Word of God will find many points in this book puzzling," says the > introduction to "Biology: Third Edition" from Bob Jones University > Press. "This book was not written for them." > > The textbook delivers a religious ultimatum to young readers and > parents, warning in its "History of Life" chapter that a "Christian > worldview ... is the only correct view of reality; anyone who rejects > it will not only fail to reach heaven but also fail to see the world > as it truly is." > > When the AP asked about that passage, university spokesman Brian > Scoles said the sentence made it into the book because of an editing > error and will be removed from future editions. > > The size of the business of home-school texts isn't clear because the > textbook industry is fragmented and privately held publishers don't > give out sales numbers. Slatter said home-school material sales reach > about $1 billion annually in the U.S. > > Publishers are well aware of the market, said Jay Wile, a former > chemistry professor in Indianapolis who helped launch the Apologia > curriculum in the early 1990s. > > "If I'm planning to write a curriculum, and I want to write it in a > way that will appeal to home-schoolers, I'm going to at least find out > what my demographic is," Wile said. > > In Kentucky, Lexington home-schooler Mia Perry remembers feeling > disheartened while flipping through a home-school curriculum catalog > and finding so many religious-themed textbooks. > > "We're not religious home-schoolers, and there's somewhat of a feeling > of being outnumbered," said Perry, who has home-schooled three of her > four children after removing her oldest child from a public school > because of a health condition. > > Perry said she cobbled together her own curriculum after some > mainstream publishers told her they would not sell directly to > home-schooling parents. > > Wendy Womack, another Lexington home-school mother, said the only > scientifically credible curriculum she's found is from the > Maryland-based Calvert School, which has been selling study-at-home > materials for more than 100 years. > > Apologia and Bob Jones University Press say their science books sell > well. Apologia's "Exploring Creation" biology textbook retails for > $65, while Bob Jones'"Biology" Third Edition lists at $52. > > Coyne and Virginia Tech biology professor Duncan Porter reviewed > excerpts from the Apologia and Bob Jones biology textbooks, which are > equivalent to ninth- and 10th-grade biology lessons. Porter said he > would give the books an F. > > "If this is the way kids are home-schooled then they're being > shortchanged, both rationally and in terms of biology," Coyne said. He > argued that the books may steer students away from careers in biology > or the study of the history of the earth. > > Wile countered that Coyne "feels compelled to lie in order to prop up > a failing hypothesis (evolution). We definitely do not lie to the > students. We tell them the facts that people like Dr. Coyne would > prefer to cover up." > > Adam Brown's parents say their 16-year-old son's belief in the Bible's > creation story isn't deterring him from pursuing a career in marine > biology. His parents, Ken and Polly Brown, taught him at their Cedar > Grove, Ind., home using the Apologia curriculum and other science > texts. > > Polly Brown said her son would gladly take college courses that > include evolution, and he'll be able to provide the expected answers > even though he disagrees. > > "He probably knows it better than the kids who have been taught > evolution all through public school," Polly Brown said. "But that is > in order for him to understand both sides of that argument because he > will face it throughout his higher education." > > ___ > > Apologia Educational Ministries: www.apologia.com > > Bob Jones University Press: www.bjupress.com/page/HS+Home > > Jerry Coyne's blog, "Why Evolution is True": whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/ > > http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/03/06/national/a112446S05.DTL > > -- > Larry C. Lyons > web: http://www.lyonsmorris.com/lyons > LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/larryclyons > -- > The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do. > - B. F. Skinner - > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Want to reach the ColdFusion community with something they want? 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